


Legacy? What is a Legacy?

by ultimate_human_disaster



Category: 18th & 19th Century CE RPF, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Set during the holidays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-11 02:29:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5610520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultimate_human_disaster/pseuds/ultimate_human_disaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Fine," Aaron said, crossing his arms and leaning backwards. "Tell me."</p><p>"I'll pretend to be your boyfriend," Alex said, grinning.</p><p>Robert stood up immediately, nearly knocking his chair onto the ground. "Alright, Aaron was right, that's a horrible idea. I'm out."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> gUYS GET READY BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA MEET THE BURRS (in the next chapter. i just don't trust the end note posting system here in ch 1)  
> burr family dynamics won't be extremely hella accurate like i try to be because i can't spread myself too thin with my historical research so i won't go past wikipedia research  
> hOWEVER  
> IF YOU HAVE INFO YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH ME  
> PLEASE TELL ME  
> PLEASE  
> BURR IS MY POOR PRECIOUS CHILD AND I LOVE HIM AND I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM
> 
> also i love this trope and i also love troup so you'll see bits of him. i need to learn more about his relationship dynamic but my books aren't in yet soooo.. we'll see
> 
> OKAY SO here's the rundown  
> burr's not an orphan, but his parents are often away, so there's now actually a person behind the "maintain the legacy" push. ham's still and orphan and an immigrant.  
> timeline wise, these are college days, so i know burr and ham know troup and mulligan, but lafayette and laurens are wartime/post college (i believe? correct me if i'm wrong. i would appreciate it) (so is eliza bc that's 1780)  
> also burr is bi in this but it's universally know by all characters bc it probably got in the newspaper or something because that's just burr's luck

"C'mon Alexander, pick up," Aaron pled, dialing the number again. He couldn't feel the cold plastic of his flip phone as he pressed it up against his ear. Rubbing his finger against the frozen bridge of his nose, he huddled in on himself as a cold gust of wind pushed up the fallen snow into the crevice between his jacket and his gloves. "Alex, please," he whispered at the second ring. It took all he had to suppress the sob that threatened to wrack through his frame.

"This is Alexander Hamilton speaking," the speaker projected after a brief silence.

"Alex!" Aaron practically gasped, his voice expressing much more relief than he'd intended. "Thank god you picked up."

There was a quick shuffling of papers on the other side of the connection--it was likely that Alex had fallen asleep at his desk--before he replied groggily. "Burr, it's two in the morning." A pause. "Is everything alright."

Aaron tried his best to hold in a sniffle. "Can I speak to you?" he asked. "In person?"

He heard movement coming from the other side, bed covers sliding, the echoing steps of feet falling on the upper floor of an old house. "Now?"

"Who is it?" Aaron heard another person say. Robert Troup, Alexander's roommate and their mutual friend, most likely.

"It's Aaron," Alex replied. "He wants me to meet up with him."

"Now?" Rob asked.

"I would appreciate it if you could," Aaron said. "I-" He looked down at the snow that had melted on his boots and tried to think of what to say. "There's something I need to discuss with you."

"And it couldn't wait until the morning?" Alex asked.

"I wish it could," Aaron replied, "but the bus leaves at dawn, and I need to be on it."

Alex sighed. "Alright, fine. Where are you at?"

"The cafe south of Main Street," Aaron answered. The neon "open" sign flickered, almost in response. It was hard to envision it not being mocking, telling him that if he'd bothered to switch to a better cell phone service, he could be inside the heated building instead of freezing outside in the snow.

"The one close to where I am?" Alex asked.

"The very one," Aaron said.

There was another pause and a shuffling of fabric. "Can I bring Robert?"

"Please," Aaron replied. Doubtless, Rob's presence would help ease up the situation a bit. His bright attitude brought a much needed levity to the conversations that the three of them shared.

"I'll see you in ten?" Alex said. His voice was muted slightly, probably holding the phone further away from his person.

"Thank you," Aaron replied.

Another shuffle came through the speaker--he assumed it to be a nod--and the line went dead. Aaron stared blankly at the small screen on his phone before flipping it shut and shoving it inside his jeans pocket, hurriedly making his way back across the street so he could enter the small cafe. It was a small place with a quaint look to it and good service. The food and drink were quite good as well, especially in comparison to the prices. Aaron grabbed his seat again, shedding his cold jacket, and he took a sip of his coffee. By now, it was edging into lukewarm territory, but he downed the rest of it anyways and stood up to throw it away.

He was hovering impatiently around his seat when Alex arrived with Rob in tow.

"Aaron, is everything alright?" Rob asked. His hair was mussed and the bags under his eyes heavy, but the sheer amount of concern in his eyes showed an alertness that Aaron wasn't used to seeing in tired people. It was a quality that both Rob and Alex shared.

"Not quite," Aaron admitted, fidgeting with the receipt in his hands, creasing the paper over and over again. "I'm going home for the holidays."

Alex nodded, clearly not getting what he was trying to imply. "You always go home."

Aaron took a breath. "My parents are back in the US."

Alex let off a soft, "Oh," and Rob reached over to place a comforting hand on Aaron's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Rob said.

Aaron felt inclined to brush his hand off, to say that he was fine, but he didn't. "It's not a death sentence."

"So what hurdle are you facing this time?" Alex asked. "I can get you some good reviews pronto, if you need them."

Aaron laughed, wincing at how fearful it sounded. "No, it's not that, it's just that they kind of expect me to be in a relationship right now."

Rob nodded slowly. "Ah, yeah, that's a bit more of a problem."

"I'd expect them to think that that would be more of a distraction," Alex said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. Both Rob and Aaron followed suit.

"My dad says it good for my public image," Aaron replied, clasping his hands, and resting them on the table. He kept his eyes cast downwards. 

He could see Alex leaning back slightly in his periphery.

"Don't you dare say he has a point," Aaron said, looking up to meet Alex's eyes.

"He does though," Alex said, lifting his shoulders.

Aaron opened his mouth to shoot back a response, but Rob cleared his throat. "Don't you two even try to start an argument," Rob said. He pushed back the sleeve of his jacket and checked the time. "It's 2:30 now."

Aaron looked at him guiltily. "The fact remains that I don't know what my parents will do if I don't meet their expectations, and I honestly don't want to."

"So you want us to come up with a solution?" Rob asked.

"Or at least see me off," Aaron replied. "I don't know if I'll be able to come back after this."

Alex looked at him sympathetically. "Aaron, you're twenty-one and brilliant. If I can get a full ride, so can you."

"Alex you don't understand how powerful both of my parents are," Aaron said quietly. "If I don't meet their expectations, they can and _will_ stop at nothing to destroy me."

Rob let out a low whistle. "Wow, shit, sorry dude."

Aaron shook his head. "No, it's my fault. I should have thought of this earlier. I should have--"

"I've got an idea," Alex said, interrupting him. "It's a brilliant idea. Flawless."

"Alex, no," Aaron whispered, his eyes going wide.

"Hey, it could be a good idea," Rob reasoned.

"Listen to Robert," Alex said.

"Alex, whatever this is, it could go horribly wrong," Aaron said, "especially when I'm involved."

"I think it's a good plan," Alex replied. "At least listen to it."

"Fine," Aaron said, crossing his arms and leaning backwards. "Tell me."

"I'll pretend to be your boyfriend," Alex said, grinning.

Robert stood up immediately, nearly knocking his chair onto the ground. "Alright, Aaron was right, that's a horrible idea. I'm out."

"Rob, you can't leave, you drove me here," Alex said, pushing himself half out of his own chair.

Rob looked at him, seemingly surprised. "But aren't you going with Aaron?"

It's was Aaron's turn to burst out of his chair, which actually did fall to the ground with a crash, drawing a tired stare from the barista behind the counter. "Robert, no, please don't leave him with me."

"It's just that," Rob began, digging through his pockets for his keys. "You're going to go through with his plan because it's your only option, and Alex isn't going to not let you do it, and the last thing I want is to get caught up in yet another Hurricane Hamburrger."

"Hamburrger?" Aaron asked.

"It's our last names mixed together," Alex interjected.

Aaron nodded slowly. "Alright. And you're just going to dump Alex on me letting him get his stuff?"

"Excuse me, but I am _not_ dumped on people," Alex yelled, the pitch of his voice rising. "I am a gift."

"This is precisely what I'm talking about," Rob said, backing towards the door. "Alex, if you want to get your stuff before you go, you'd better be in my car in three seconds."

"I'll be at your dorm in two hours," Alex said, running backwards through the door that Rob was holding open. He did an awkward little wave before turning around and dashing towards the car.

Aaron was left in the awkward silence that filled the room upon their departure.

"What the fuck," he said, bending down to pick his chair off the floor. Before he left, he dropped a twenty dollar bill in the tip jar with his condolences to the barista.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Confession time, here's what I've got:
> 
> I'm a slow writer and I don't know a lot, so first there's research time and then there's me actually writing, so I said he was going to get home this chapter but apparently that didn't happen. So next one. Next one for certain.

Aaron paced about his room, circling around his travel bag with an apprehension and anxiety that he usually forced himself to stomach. As soon as a he heard the knock at the door, he ran over to it and threw it open, thankful for at least the semblance of reprieve.

"Alexander!" he breathed, beaming when he saw his friend.

"Aaron!" Alex returned, his face curious. "Is everything alright?"

"Ah, yeah." Aaron brought a hand up to the back of his neck, rubbing slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine, just--"

"I get it, man," Alex said, clapping him on his shoulder. He picked up his own duffle bag from where he'd left it on the ground in the hallway and walked into Aaron's room, his eyes scanning the area. "Princeton is really nice, wow."

"I thought you'd been here before," Aaron said, following Alex's gaze as it swept the room from corner to corner.

Alexander shrugged. "It was only for a brief tour of the campus. I didn't really get to see the dorms."

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Alexander nodded. "We were kind of rushed for time."

"I'd offer you a tour, but we have to be at the station in..." Aaron glanced up at the clock that hung on the wall.

"Forty-five minutes," Alex said. 

"Right," Aaron replied, bending down so he could wrap his fingers around the handle of his bag. "Should we go now?" he asked.

"Best time to beat the crowds," Alex said, picking up his own bag and hefting it over his shoulder. "You get everything you need?"

Aaron nodded, but he let his eyes wander around the room again. "I should. And you?"

"I do," Alex replied, shaking his bag slightly. "So what's the plan?"

"We'll take the shuttle to Northeast Corridor and ride the bus from there," Aaron explained as Alex pulled him out the door, stopping only briefly for Aaron to lock it up behind him. "You do know where we're going, right?"

"Possibly?" Alex replied. He paused before saying, "It's in New York."

"The family house is in Albany," Aaron sighed, pushing open the door and stepping out into the snow.

"And that's in New York," Alex said. "See, I knew."

"My apologies for doubting you," Aaron said, turning his head away so he could roll his eyes. "So what's our cover story?"

"Cover story?" Alex asked. "Oh, you mean all the background info and that bullshit that we're supposed to feed your parents? I figured we'd wing it."

"I'm sorry?" Aaron asked, trying to keep the disbelief out of his voice. "You can't possibly mean that. We need this to hold together, and not much does under my mom's eyes."

"Ahh, sure," Alex said. "First of all, we don't even act like we're together. No matter what we say, if we don't look it, it's not true."

"That's what they're teaching you down in Rutgers?" Aaron asked.

"And all the other things we need to know," Alex replied, "but you digress. The fact is, we're going to need to be much more tactile." He laced his fingers with Aaron's when they reached the street crossing, meeting his eyes.

Aaron smirked, squeezing Alex hand. "And that's going to convince my mom? She'll see right through it."

"That sounds like a challenge," Alex said.

"See it as one," Aaron replied, taking back his hand as the crosswalk light changed. "Consider this: if you can pull this off, you can pass the bar."

"Oh, yeah, definitely a challenge," Alex said, speaking with a surprising amount of confidence. 

"So then," Aaron said, pulling out his phone. "How long have we been together?"

"A year?" Alex offered.

"That long?" Aaron asked.

"Mmh, yeah that might be a bit of a stretch," Alex said, looking up at the sky from between the eaves of the stores that lined the streets.

Aaron narrowed his eyes at the statement, trying not to look into it. "A few months might work."

"Sounds realistic," Alex said. "Have you even been in a relationship that long?"

"Have you?" Aaron replied, not even bothering to look up.

"Ouch, fair point," Alex said, laughing slightly. "Alright, a few months. Three."

Aaron nodded, poking at his phone screen to take down the information. "Great, how did we meet?"

"The best lies are closest to the truth," Alex replied. "Robert introduced us."

"They teach you that one in one of your law classes?"

Alex laughed. "Latin, actually."

"What the fuck?"

"Don't question it," Alex said, "and don't inquire."

"I take Latin, and we don't learn about whatever that was," Aaron replied.

"Not my fault that you get to miss out on the fun," Alex said.

"I think I'm content where I am," Aaron said. "So, Robert introduced us, we hit it off."

"That last bit would be a lie," Alex replied. "How about a ton of anger and sexual tension that ended in hate sex."

Aaron winced. "Oh, god, don't tell my parents that."

"What part?" Alex asked.

"Any of it," Aaron said. "Anything sexual. They're pretty religious, the both of them."

Alex looked at him curiously. "And you think it's a good idea to tell them you're in a gay relationship?"

"No sex, no marriage, anything else is fine," Aaron said, sounding strained.

"No sex?" Alex burst into laughter. "Aaron Burr without sex is like no Aaron Burr at all."

"Yeah...they don't know about that," Aaron said, casting his eyes to the side.

Alex whistled, long and low. "Wow, how are you even part of that family?"

Aaron grumbled, refusing to meet Alex's gaze.

"I'm sorry, I'm just surprised is all," Alex said, "because you have sex, like, _a lot_."

Aaron finally looked up. "It's in your best interest to keep quiet about that."

"A threat?" Alex asked.

"If you don't, I'm telling Mulligan about what you and Rob did in your beds," Aaron said.

"You've slept with Robert, too!" Alex protested.

"Yeah, but we didn't do it in Mulligan's house," Aaron shot back.

"Ah," Alex winced. "Yeah. My lips are sealed. I mean, they already were, but I'm shutting up. Mum's the word."

"Shutting up for good?" Aaron asked, perhaps a bit too hopefully as the shuttle station loomed into view.

"You wish," Alex replied, grinning. "Okay, but seriously, I'm hot, you're hot. Why _haven't_ we had sex yet?"

“Rob aside, we both only have one night stands with people we’ll probably never see again,” Aaron said. “I see you far too often to have one with you.

Alex shrugged. “Fair point.” He looked up at the ticket prices and winced. “Hey, wanna spot me one and pay for my ticket?”

“Seriously?” Aaron asked.

Alex shrugged. “Look, not everyone is as rich as you. I don’t go anywhere for the holidays for a reason.”

“I’m ‘rich’ because I have a job,” Aaron shot back, but he payed for Alex’s ticket anyways.

“Whoring?” Alex asked, accepting the small slip of paper that the machine spat out.

“I wish, but nah,” Aaron replied, continuing with his voice edged with respect. “I don’t think I’m emotionally resilient enough for that job, and it’s quite the risky business.” He paused, seriously considering the fact that Alex might not know where he worked. “I work at a library.”

Alex stared at him, and Aaron could practically see the cogs in Alex’s mind working away trying to process this new information. “I…knew that,” he said, hesitantly.

“Of course you did,” Aaron said, laughing as they took a seat on one of the benches. “You know everything about me. You know that my favorite color is lavender and that my sister is an extremely skilled sharpshooter.”

“WHAT.” Alex’s outburst was loud but entirely expected.

“Hey,” Aaron protested. “Lavender is a wonderful color and I won’t have you insulting my tendency towards it.”

“Not,” Alex gestured wildly, “that.”

Aaron grinned. “Yeah, I know, it seems unexpected, but we had to do something with those long nights when Tapping was out. We have quite the arsenal, though none of it ever leaves the range.”

Alex blinked a few times. “You Americans are weird.”

“Say that a bit louder,” Aaron said. “Make sure everyone can hear you.”

Alex rolled his eyes openly. “You just want to see me get beat up.”

“Another thing about me that you know, I’m a pacifist in most situations and prefer not to engage in conflict.”

Alex frowned. “I have proof against that.”

“What is it?” Aaron asked.

“Me,” Alex said simply. “How many times have we gone toe to toe?”

“That, my dear Alexander, makes you the exception,” Aaron said, standing up and giving Alex a pat on the head. “The shuttle’s going to arrive any second now. You’d best get ready.”

"Oh, nice, I get to be an exception," Alex replied, catching Aaron's hand and using it to pull himself to his feet.

"Have you even been anything but one?" Aaron asked, taking his hand back as the shuttle dragged to a stop.

"Mmh," Alex said, grabbing Aaron's hand again as they made their way through the turnstile. "You know hand holding is a nice, non-sexual way of expressing a romantic relationship."

Aaron turned his head back to glare at Alex but he didn't voice protest, however, when they were already in their seats, and Alex still hadn't let go of Aaron's hand, he felt he had to say something.

"Are you just going to keep holding my hand?"

"Is it uncomfortable?" Alex asked.

"Yes," Aaron replied quickly. "Well, no, it's just that it's–"

"You're not used to it," Alex said. When Aaron nodded, he continued. "It's something I'd advise you acclimate yourself towards. Fake relationships are a two way street."

"You sound oddly familiar with the workings of the concept," Aaron said. "Have you done this before?"

"Perhaps," Alex said, leaning forwards and smirking.

"Oh my god." Aaron rolled his eyes. "Of course you have."

Alex shrugged. "Usually all it takes is some passionate kissing and lovey dovey behavior." He grinned, perhaps a bit impishly. "Your parents'll be a new kind of challenge all together."

"This was a terrible idea," Aaron groaned, burying his face into his one free hand.

Alex made a clicking sound with his tongue before leaning over. "I personally think it's a wonderful idea."

"That's because it was yours," Aaron replied before hitting Alex on the face with his own hand. "If this flops," he continued when Alex looked up at him in mock offense, "you're financially responsible for me for the rest of my life."

"Fine," Alex replied, "but only if you promise me that, if this succeeds, you'll feed me for a month."

"Deal," Aaron replied, shaking their joined hand.

"You know," Alex mused, "I've always closed deals with a kiss."

"Kiss me and I'll hit you again," Aaron threatened.

"Fine, fine!" Alex exclaimed holding both his hands up beside his head. There was a pause while he looked at Aaron, contemplating. "You know it's kind of hot when your threaten me."

"Oh my god," Aaron replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm too much of a pacifist you can see it in my writing lol
> 
> thank you all so much for your comments and kudos and bookmarks!  
> they really make my day <3
> 
> -I've never been to Princeton, but I believe that at least a few of the colleges there are residential. I have no idea what the dorms look like, but it's one of the most expensive colleges in NJ so that's gotta mean something.  
> -yes we learned that in my latin class. it's far from the strangest and unrelated stuff that we've learned in that class  
> -i may delve into the reality behind burr's hypersexual behavior because it really does need to be addressed. i mean even if it's only in theory, it's still likely and no one talks about it so i will. (i mean no one really looks into burr enough and because he's such a controversial character it's hard to pin down one proper characterization)
> 
> EDIT:  
> 4/4/16: i've changed a part in the dialogue between Alex and Aaron where Aaron said his sister was married to their caretaker. this is incorrect later on in the story because i am an incompetent human being who forgets to read their own work to check for continuity. the text now reads to say that Sally is a skilled sharpshooter. I feel like I should do something about this later on in the story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> glad to see that some of you are here for the ooc ride of your life *lowers sunglasses*  
> the only thing that's ic in this entire fic is troup
> 
> there's probably going to be large gaps in between updates. the fandom has killed me. it's too large. *whispers quietly* the new hetalia.  
> *oohh take me back to the staaarrt*  
> but i will continue working on it when i get the chance! I do need to flesh out the overall plot a good deal more
> 
> this was going to be shorter, but then it became longer? (blame the dialogue). we still haven't met all the burrs. i have failed. but we /will/ meet aaron burr, sr. and tapping (honorary burr) next chapter. probably. not sure about the former.

Aaron didn't like Albany much. There were too many old memories written into the cracks in the sidewalk and in the familiar way that the snow would drape itself onto the boughs of the trees. Aaron sighed and edged a bit closer to Alex, pushing his shoulder into the space behind Alex's back.

He found the contact strangely comforting. Alex had long since released his hand and they'd spent about an hour apart before the strain of travel began to wear of them, and they'd drifted off intermittently, shoulders and arms pressed up against each other.

The intercom crackled to life, informing the passengers of the upcoming stops. Aaron noted, with some annoyance, that theirs was next. Grumbling, he nudged Alex, trying to wake him up.

Alex mumbled something incoherent, squinting down to look at Aaron. "Whaddizit?"

"We're here," Aaron whispered.

Alex blinked a few times, confused. "Wha?"

"Next stop is our stop," Aaron said a little bit louder. He picked up his bag, giving it a quick shake.

Alex stared at it for a second before offering a delayed nod. "Righ'." He groaned, pulling himself forward so he could reach his own bag, pulling it onto his lap. He stared at it for a second before looking towards Aaron. "Anything else I need to know?"

"Nothing I can think of right now," Aaron replied, shaking his head. "Just, y'know, watch what you say."

Alex stared at him dimly as the bus pulled to a stop and they made their way out onto the sidewalk. "I always do, never fear." He offered Aaron a winning smile, dulled by his drowsiness.

"If that's the case," said Aaron, "then I have good reason to fear."

Alex rolled his eyes but, much to Aaron's relief, said nothing.

Aaron kept his eyes trained on the mailboxes as they passed by them. They were the older, fancier sort, standing boldly at the edge of the sidewalk, while black paint continued to chip away.

“This place seems really…” Alex paused, taking a moment to squint at one of the three story houses, “…colonial.”

Aaron let out a short laugh. “You don't say. A lot of these buildings are actually pretty old, but they don’t date back to the revolution.”

“Made to look older?” Alex guessed, turning his head so he could examine the houses on the other side of the street.

“An art form the architects perfected,” Aaron replied.

“Nice,” Alex said, nodding. His eyebrows creased slightly as he looked at the upcoming house. “How much longer until we get to your place?”

“Impatient?” Aaron asked, not bothering to keep the rib out of his voice.

“Just curious,” Alex replied haughtily.

“Another block,” Aaron said as he looked up at the street sign at the intersection, just to double check.

Alex nodded and pulled out his phone, silencing for a moment in favor of assaulting the screen relentlessly with his fingers.

Aaron caught a glimpse of a paragraph long text message and tried to guess what Alex could have possibly said before decidedly turning his head away for the sake of his own sanity.

“Checking in with Rob?” Aaron asked.

Alex nodded, squinting at a much smaller reply popped up on the screen seconds later. “Yeah,” he said. “He’s glad to hear that we’ve made it here all right and wants me to keep checking in on him. He also says you ought to establish a line of communication with him for safety’s sake.”

“He said all that in such a short response?” Aaron asked, eyebrow raised.

“You reading my messages?” Alex asked, quickly pressing the power button on his phone and sliding it back into his pocket.

“Caught a glimpse of the text bubble is all,” Aaron replied. “I can’t help it if I’m observant, but I know when I’m not meant to snoop.”

Alex stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. “Good,” he said. He paused for a moment before continuing. "You know, that's not what the rumors say."

"I know what the rumors say," Aaron replied stiffly, careful to keep his eyes pointed directly in front of him. "I also know they're not true."

"Huh." Alex made a noise that sounded faintly like surprise. "Really."

Aaron decided not to grace him with a response. "We're here," he said, resting his hand on a rail leading up a short set of steps.

"Nice," Alex said, staring up at the building. "It looks like all of the other ones on the street. Rich and obnoxious."

Aaron squinted at him. "You knew this going in."

"Yes," Alex said simply. "I did. It's not going to stop me from judging your family relentlessly."

"Keep your judgement away from my sister," Aaron said, turning away from him towards the door. "But feel free to judge my parents and Grandpa Edwards."

"Edwards," Alex repeated, pondering over the surname. "Wait, you mean like--"

Aaron knocked on the door heavily, just loud enough to drown Alex out. "Shut up," he said.

Alex held his hands up in mock surrender, joining Aaron on the top step. "You feeling butterflies or is that just me?" he whispered.

Aaron gave him a scalding glare just as the door opened.

"Mom!" Aaron said quickly. "Mother, this is Alexander Hamilton, my romantic partner. Alex, this is Esther Edwards Burr, my mother."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Burr," Alex said, extending his hand. He'd put on the smile he used specifically for getting people to like him. It was a bit too evident that it was an act.

"Mrs. Esther will do," Esther replied, taking Alexander's hand and giving it a firm shake. She turned to Aaron, looking unimpressed. "Aaron, I was hoping you'd find someone more..." she paused for a moment, trying to find the right word "...someone better than this young man. Have I taught you nothing?"

Aaron shook his head quickly. "No, Mother," he said. "Alex is better than this, if you just give him a chance." He shot Alex a warning glance who returned it with a look of mock hurt.

Esther clicked her tongue. "Very well," she said. "You are young still, not that that’s any excuse..." She blinked tiredly before seeming to remember that she was still standing in the middle of the doorway. "Come in," she said. "You're lucky we live in a big house. We still do have another guest bedroom."

"Do we have another guest?" Aaron asked, holding the door open as Alexander stepped meekly into the house. Esther had already taken a few steps back towards the staircase.

"Tapping Reeve is here," Esther replied. "You'll be coming to the wedding this summer, of course."

Aaron nodded, trying to keep the confusion off of his face. He made a mental note to ask Sally what their mom was talking about. It wasn't like her to keep things from him. As far as he knew, there was no wedding to speak of at all. It also wasn't like Tapping Reeve to be around when his parents were.

Tapping was, in simplest terms, the third parent of the Burr children. Due to Aaron Sr.'s and Esther's continual absences, Tapping Reeve had been employed to look after both Aaron and Sally. He was probably the closest thing to a parent figure that Aaron would ever have.

"I'll tell Aaron you're here," Esther said, pushing herself away from the railing and picking up a small notebook from the small table next to it. "He'll be wanting to talk with you later, but I'll spare you that conversation now."

"Thank you, Mother," Aaron replied.

Esther clicked her tongue again but said nothing as she disappeared down the hall.

When she was out of sight, Alex heaved a large sigh.

"Not used to keeping your mouth shut for that long?" Aaron asked.

"Be quiet," Alex hissed. "Your mom's intimidating, and I was this close to saying something, but then she glared at me!"

"She's a jaded, old-style feminist biographer," Aaron said. "You just have to be respectful and honest."

Alex stared at him as if he'd grown an extra head. "That's contradictory."

"Is it?" Aaron asked. "Anyways, I had better show you to the spare, spare room. I assume Tapping has taken the normal spare."

"Didn't you tell me he was your butler or something?" commented Alex.

"Caretaker," Aaron corrected, "or guardian, if you prefer, but definitely not a butler."

Alex blinked thoughtfully. "I'm assuming there's a difference," he said.

Aaron ignored him in favor of taking his bag by the handle and lugging it up the stairs.

"I'll take that as a yes," Alexander replied, following after him.

"Your room will be the last down the hall, mine is right next to yours," Aaron said when they'd reached the top of the flight of stairs. He left his bag next to his door and pushed open Alexander's.

The room was as empty and colorless as it had been last time Aaron had ended up in it. All the furniture, as little of it as there was, matched the antique style of the rest of the house, but the only extra piece of any flavor was a cheap reproduction of some famous painting.

"Well," said Alex, "at least I probably don't have to worry about accidentally breaking something."

"I didn't realize that was a concern," Aaron said, concerned.

Alex shrugged. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

Aaron nodded slowly. "Pretend this entire place is a museum," he said, pausing to assess Alex’s expression. "For adults," he clarified. "And hurry up when you're settling in. I'd rather get the introductions done sooner rather than later."

Alex nodded and stepped into the room. His hand was on the doorknob, about to pull the door shut, when he hesitated. "Look," he said, "I know I'm supposed to be doing you a favor about being here and all, but you need to stop acting all stiff and upright. This isn't business, and, don't forget, it's my holiday too."

Aaron sighed, contemplating an answer. "We need some sort of compromise," he said at last. "I need to maintain a level of professionalism. It's what my parents expect."

"If you let me live a little," Alex said thoughtfully, "I'll stop getting on your case about you being an absolute stick in the mud."

"You can't do anything that endangers either of our situations here," Aaron said.

"Deal," Alex said, extending his hand.

Aaron squinted at it suspiciously. "This feels like a deal with the devil," he said, but he shook it anyways.

“Sure,” Alex said, “but, between the two of us, you’re definitely the devil.”

When the handshake continued to go on for longer than Aaron felt socially acceptable, he looked Alex in the eye and said, "This is legally binding."

Alex pulled his hand back. "If you sue me," he said, "I will fight you and then sue your ass."

“We both know who would win that legal battle,” Aaron said, squinting.

There was a slight pause in which they stared each other down.

“Me,” they both said at the same time. 

Aaron pulled the door closed abruptly. “You have five minutes to get settled, then you’re meeting Sally.”

* * *

Aaron only took enough time to set his bags down before he was back in the hallway, knocking gently on his sister’s door, the next room over.

“One second!” she called out.

“Sally, it’s me!” Aaron yelled back.

“Aaron!” Sally gasped, throwing open the door. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said as she pulled him into a smothering hug.

Aaron made a soft noise of surprise, but he hugged her back with a similar excitement. “I’m glad to see that you’re doing well.”

Sally grinned, releasing him. “I threw off that cough as if it were yesterday’s news. Told it you were coming, and I wasn’t going to have any of it.”

“Does this mean you can go Christmas shopping with me,” Aaron asked hopefully.

“You know it,” Sally replied. “We both need one less day of Mom and Dad if you ask me.”

“You’re my savior, honestly,” Aaron said, pausing before continuing. “I heard that Tapping is staying over for the holidays?”

“Ah—yes,” Sally said, her visage becoming awkward and tense.

Aaron raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Is something up?” he asked. A wedding. Their mom had mentioned a wedding.

“Oh,” Sally said, her face looking forcibly relaxed, “no, nothing’s up. I do have a bit of big news that I want to tell you.”

The wedding, Aaron prompted mentally.

“I’ll get to that later though,” Sally continued. “I do believe I heard someone else out in the hallway. Someone new?”

Years of practice in keeping a straight face and being patient kept him from prying. “Yes,” Aaron said. “That’s my, ah, my—Alex.” Aaron groaned internally. He should have practiced this.

“Your Alex?” Sally asked, smirking.

“Something like that,” Aaron replied hesitantly. He struggled to hold his sister’s gaze.

“That’s going to require a conversation,” Sally said, “but later of course. Why don’t you introduce me? I assume he’s already in the spare, spare?”

“I told him he had five minutes to settle in,” Aaron replied, “then I’d introduce him to you.”

Sally glanced backwards into her room where Aaron knew a clock was hung on the wall. “You’ve given him a bit more than that,” she said. “Two, three extra, I’d say.” When she saw Aaron’s disheartened expression she offered him a comforting smile. “There, there,” she said. “I know you like to keep your ‘associates’ on short leashes, but it’s the holidays. Give yourself a break.”

“‘Short leash’ is right,” Alex said, appearing at the door, causing Aaron to all but leap to the side. “Our Aaron here is a regular dictatorial stick in the mud.”

“Alex!” Aaron hissed.

Alex shrugged. “Listen, I said you should lighten up, your sister agrees. Two to one. I think the democratic process has spoken clearly.”

“I apologize in advance for him,” Aaron said, trying to make a point in ignoring Alex. “Any attempts in trying to teach him courtesy have been met with unflagging resistance.”

“Oh, it’s quite alright,” Sally replied, smiling. “It’s charming and, honestly, a welcome change.”

Aaron looked between Alex’s increasingly smug face and his sister’s contented smile. “Now you’ve done it,” he whispered. “You’ve fed his ego.”

Sally snickered. “What’s the worse it’s going to do to anyone?”

“You’ve signed my death warrant,” Aaron replied, looking her straight in the eye without a hint of a joking tone.

“Alright, alright,” Sally said, acquiescing. She ducked her head briefly before looking to the side in the direction of the spare bedroom. “Tapping’s going to want to see you both,” she continued. “He misses you, Aaron, but, then again, I suppose we both do.”

Aaron smiled a bit. “I suppose you’ve been missing him too. It’s been a while since he’s been over.”

Sally squinted up at him. “If this is about what I think it’s about…”

“What?” Alex asked, looking quickly between Aaron and Sally.

“Nothing,” Sally said shaking her head quickly.

“Aaron doesn’t tell me anything about what goes on in his house,” Alex whined. “You can’t leave me in the dark like this.” He grabbed ahold of Aaron’s sleeves. “C’mon, man,” he said, “You gotta tell me.”

“Sally here—,” Aaron began.

“No,” whispered Sally.

“—well she—”

“Aaron!”

“—had a huge—” Aaron made a sweeping gesture with his arms, before looking at Sally expectantly.

“I had a stupid childhood crush on him,” Sally said, crossing her arms and pouting. It was painfully endearing. “That’s all it was. Aaron won’t let it go.”

“Wow,” whispered Alex. “I never knew Aaron was capable of having a proper sibling relationship.”

“That’s what you got from that?” Aaron asked, staring at him while Sally laughed.

“Aaron here is capable of a lot of things,” Sally said, grinning. “Two and a half things, precisely.”

“Two and a half good things,” Aaron replied tersely. “Speaking of good things, I suspect Tapping is here right now?”

“Ah!” Sally exclaimed. “Yes!” She leaned over to her desk and picked up her phone. She sent off a text and waited for the response before continuing. “He’s almost done with his work. We can drop in on him soon.”

Alex blinked and Aaron could tell he’d come to a realization. “Hey, Aaron,” Alex said, “you never did tell me exactly what it was Tapping did when he wasn’t being your butler.”

“Caretaker,” both Sally and Aaron corrected at the same time. They shared a knowing look before Aaron cleared his throat to give Alex a response.

“He’s a lawyer,” said Aaron. “He also teaches law.”

Alex suddenly became very attentive. “You think he could give me pointers? Possibly introduce me to people?”

“Now, now, Alex,” Aaron said, resting a hand on Alex’s shoulder and giving him a level glace. “I thought this was vacation time, which meant relaxing and _not_ thinking about school.”

“Shush,” Alex said, holding up an index finger. “How much longer do you think it’s going to be until he’s done?” he asked, turning to Sally.

Sally shrugged, looking down at her phone. “Five minutes?”

Alex shot Aaron a victorious grin. “Five minutes,” he repeated.

Aaron groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> subtle reference to "burr" by gore vidal. if u find it, u win
> 
> i actually wrote most of this in a car with my 9 and 11 yo brother and sister looking at my screen despite my begging them not to?? i don't know if this had an effect


	4. Notice (Seeking input)

Hello! As you can probably tell, this work had been effectively abandoned. However, I am considering starting it up again, but from scratch.

 **My primary reason for abandoning it in the first place is this:**  
I was in the Hamilton RP community on Tumblr when one of the community members who was acting very sexually was revealed to be 11 years old. Anyways, this seriously messed with my psyche, because this is typically a sign of CSA. Many survivors of CSA left the community at this time along with a few others and me as well. Though I am not one personally, I was continually reminded of this whenever I saw Hamilton content.

It's practically been a year since then, and I guess some of that original emotion has faded. Though I wouldn't really consider myself an active part of the fandom anymore, I don't have the same magnitude of negative reaction when seeing Hamilton content. I can typically handle it very well, and I can typically actually enjoy Hamilton fandom content when it pops up on my tumblr dashboard.

 

 **Why I'm considering restarting from scratch:**  
When I started this, I had no idea what I was doing. I had no idea what a larger plot might be. After the first two chapters or so, when I sat down to write, I really struggled to come up with anything of substance. I drove on blindly, butchering character personalities and leaning too heavily on the "Well it's an AU so it doesn't matter to much" excuse.

However, I think I have a better understanding of the characters now, and I think I can compose better dynamics to make a better and more realistic emotional situation between them. My own understanding of human communication is very poor, as is my ability to recreate that or apply motive without sufficient foresight or planning. I made characters make decisions they would have otherwise not made.

However! I actually have a better ideas now, and I think I could write this much better. The catch is, it's going to be a LOT different than what's here now. All characters present will be carried over, but other characters that I previously omitted will be included. Inter-character relationships will change, some significantly. This will introduce conflict (something most of my writing sorely lacks), but, like, realistic conflict. 

There is a bit of a catch on top of this, pertaining to updates. I'm a triple AP senior student in high school that's trying to maintain a +4.0 GPA, and one of those AP classes is studio art. This means that my schedule is a lot fuller than I'd really like it to be. Updates would be very sporadic, especially with AP tests coming up in May and my starting college in the fall (I'm not a particularly prolific writer).

 

Anyways, if my starting from scratch appeals to anyone, please let me know! It would be a rather large undertaking to start again, and I'd like to know if anyone would actually like my doing that.


End file.
